


Make the Most of Now

by webellion



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Anal Sex, M/M, Oral Sex, Sneaky Sex, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-12
Updated: 2014-11-12
Packaged: 2018-02-25 02:09:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2604701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/webellion/pseuds/webellion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How things might have happened differently in s1 ep12 “Captain Jack Harkness”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make the Most of Now

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Notes: I had fun slipping this scene into an existing Torchwood episode. Hopefully everyone can tell where I diverge from the real episode and where it resumes. Many thanks to senor_coconut_1 for ruthlessly efficient and totally correct beta-tude and to starfireNZ for always knowing what I really meant to write and pointing out when I don't manage to get it right.

Jack sat alone upstairs on a divan staring at the wall, feeling miserable, when he heard footsteps approaching. He glanced up. Captain Harkness had reappeared despite Jack's well-intentioned efforts to drive the man away earlier. Jack's heart leapt so hard that he had to glance away quickly or risk the other man immediately seeing it on his face.

“I thought you'd gone,” Jack said, straining to keep his voice neutral. 

Captain Harkness smiled ruefully and sighed, pushing his hands into his pockets in a gesture that made him look shy and boyish, even though the burning look in his eyes was anything but.

“This could be your last chance,” Jack warned, his voice hollow, and looked away again. It ached to keep pushing him away, but Jack couldn't bear the thought of the captain being so distracted swapping war stories with him that he missed out on his last chance to spend the night in the arms of a lover. It was his last chance, Jack knew, and this small hint was the only thing he could do for the captain.

“That's why I came back,” Captain Harkness said as he moved forward, a smile creeping onto his face. Jack snapped around to face him, his mouth dropping open in surprise. The captain slid in close next to Jack. His eyes were intense, locked on Jack's face.

Jack's breath hitched, speechless for a moment. The captain couldn't possibly mean... 

“I might have to leave before the night is over,” Jack started, still struggling to be noble; still trying to convince the other man that he should be spending his last night with someone else, regardless of how much Jack wanted him to stay. His heart pounded as he became acutely aware of just how close Captain Harkness was and just how green his darkly lashed eyes were. Jack didn't know how much longer he could keep hiding the strangely powerful effect this man had on him.

Captain Harkness lowered his gaze as he processed this new information and then smiled gently. “Well, then make the most of now,” he said as he slipped his hand down lightly into Jack's palm, fingertips caressing the sensitive skin there.

Jack looked down in elated disbelief, then entwined his fingers with the captain's. The other man's hand felt warm and rough in Jack's trembling grip. Heat rushing through his entire body, Jack looked up, searching for confirmation that this was really happening. Their eyes met, and time stood still as each found what he wanted in the other's face.

Voices from the staircase shattered the moment. A couple from downstairs stumbled onto the landing, laughing and clinging to each other. Captain Harkness yanked his hand away from Jack's and sprang forward to face them. The captain fidgeted, brushing away non-existent lint from his uniform and took a deep breath.

Just a split second behind him and not nearly as flustered, Jack stood and turned to face where they'd been sitting just a moment ago.

“We need Lover's Corner if you don't mind, boys,” the dark haired woman purred, clinging to the arm of her soldier beau.

Jack glanced up at the captain and smirked at the name of the spot they'd just vacated.

“Of course,” Captain Harkness floundered breathlessly. “I was just discussing strategies with the Captain.”

“We'll go somewhere else,” Jack added a bit too loudly, looking pointedly at the panicky captain and nodding with a knowing smile.

As the amorous couple settled immediately in, Jack beckoned to the other man with a tilt of his head. Captain Harkness still looked rattled and he hesitated - fear evident in his eyes. 

Jack immediately moved back towards him and the stairs. The captain stood rooted to the spot as Jack approached him. Jack smiled a gentle invitation, brushing his fingers surreptitiously across the captain's hand as he passed.

Halfway down the stairs, Jack slowed to look back over his shoulder at the man following him. “Cellar,” Jack whispered. “I'll go first. Follow me in a few minutes.” After that close call, Jack knew the captain would only be comfortable somewhere their chances of being interrupted were very slim. The cellar was perfect; nobody went down there unless there were bombs falling, and the air raid sirens would give them plenty of warning of that.

Captain Harkness looked confused for a moment and then cracked a small smile, nodding sharply in acknowledgment. He seemed calmer already.

Jack started down the stairs again, not wanting to linger and risk drawing unwanted attention. His stomach somersaulted when he heard a whisper behind him as he reached the bottom. “See you soon,” the captain said as they went in opposite directions.

 

* * *

 

Jack resisted the urge to check his wristcomp. It hadn't been that long he'd been sitting, pacing, sitting again, now standing in the dark cellar, but it seemed like forever. The lanterns and candles from the earlier air raid had all been put out, but the smell of them still hung in the air, warm over the mustiness of the cellar. The sick, nagging worry that Captain Harkness was not coming kept creeping up on him unbidden as the minutes ticked by. The band upstairs was muffled but still audible, so he entertained himself by trying to identify which song they were playing as he paced.

He was listening so hard to the faint melody that when the cellar door creaked open, it seemed as loud as a thunderclap. Jack pressed himself back into the shadows. Light flooded in for a moment, and was eclipsed again as the door closed.

“Captain Harper?” Captain Harkness called softly from the pitch black at the top of the stairs. 

Jack let out the breath he had been holding in a sigh of relief. His heart was hammering against his chest again. “I'm here,” he replied quietly and stepped out of the shadows into the half-light coming in from the high cellar window. He smiled as the captain emerged from the deep dark of the stairwell.

“Sorry to keep you waiting so long,” he started nervously. “A couple of the men had a few too many, so I had to -”

“Come here,” Jack cut him off gently. He held out his hand to the captain.

With only the slightest hesitation, Captain Harkness descended the last three steps and slipped his hand in Jack's. Backing up, Jack drew him into the shadows under the window. It was the best strategic position if they did happen to get interrupted – impossible to see from the staircase, easy access to the back room if needed and not much to trip over. Jack had had a while to think about it, and he wanted this to be perfect. Or at least as perfect as it could be under the circumstances. The circumstances. Jack swallowed hard to push down the lump that came up in his throat.

He brought the captain to stand just inches before him, not wanting to spook the other man by taking things too fast. Jack could hear... could feel... the captain's quick shallow breaths and reached up, caressing his jawline with a feather-light touch. Captain Harkness' breath caught and his grip on Jack's hand tightened momentarily. 

“It's ok,” Jack murmured reassuringly. He could only imagine the turmoil the other man must be feeling right now and knew that the courage to come even this far was nothing short of amazing. As much as he loved this era, 1941 Cardiff was not the most tolerant society Jack had ever experienced. Almost reverently, he trailed his fingers over the captain's face, down his cheekbone to his chin. As Jack's thumb slid over his soft, parted lips, the captain gasped and tensed.

Jack stopped, cupping the captain's face tenderly in the palm of his hand. “Is this your first... ?” he asked, his voice trailing off breathily. He felt the other man nod slowly. 

His first. Jack thought he might burst with pride at that honor. It was silly, but Jack was gratified it was him this first time, and not some inexperienced, overeager boy. He lowered his hand, and brought the captain's hand up, kissing the back of it softly. “Go ahead,” he encouraged him, placing the man's hand on his cheek. 

Jack closed his eyes as Captain Harkness explored slowly with both hands. The man's fingers moved over Jack's jaw, across the over the smooth skin of his cheeks and his fluttering eyelids, through his hair, and down the sides of his neck. Jack kissed those fingers, kissed the palm of the other man's hand, and sighed with pleasure. As he had hoped, the captain grew bolder as he became more at ease with Jack’s body. The captain's hands were more confident on him now, feeling the muscles of his shoulders, his arms, sliding down his chest. He alternated between soft caresses and solid squeezes, as if he kept remembering that Jack wasn’t like anyone he'd ever touched like this, and wanted to test this new wonder.

It was Captain Harkness who took the final step forward to press their bodies together. He slipped his hands around Jack's waist, making a soft noise in his throat when they made contact. Jack brought his arms up around the other man, knowing now he could explore as well. Jack bent his head forward, pressing his lips to the man's neck, just inhaling his enticing scent – scotch, smoke, sweat and soap. He felt the captain's cheek brush against his, his breath ghosting over his skin, and pulled back until their mouths were nearly touching, lips parted. The captain pressed harder into him, sliding a hand further down Jack's back, and Jack kissed him. 

It was like closing a circuit and now the electricity surged through his body in a wave of tingling excitement. The captain tasted like pears after an early frost, like waking by a campfire burned down to glowing coals. His first. Jack had intended to make it a tender, lingering kiss, but the other man's increasingly fervent reaction was too demanding. 

Jack's hands gripped the captain's shoulders, cradling the back of his neck, running through his hair, cupping his face as they kissed furiously now. Their lips crushed together, tongues questing, teeth nipping. He was delighted to feel the growing evidence of the captain's arousal against his hip, grinding urgently as he responded to every touch.

Breathless and shaky, Jack pulled away. The rush of air where previously only heated bodies had been was torture, but this was going too fast and he wanted to make it last. Much more of that, and it wouldn't. “Captain -” he started, his voice thick, then abandoned trying to speak. 

Instead, he reached for the other man's necktie, loosening it slowly, gauging the reaction. Captain Harkness immediately reached for Jack's shirt and started undoing the buttons – an even better response than Jack had dared hope for. Jack let his hands fall away, allowing the other man to undress him. 

The captain was careful, sliding his hands up under the braces and guiding them down Jack's arms to hang at his sides. Next were the shirt buttons, one by one, creeping all the way down to his waistband, where the captain's fingers lingered temptingly. In the dim light, Jack could just make out the captain's determined face, his flashing eyes and well-kissed lips. 

Yanking the shirt free of Jack's trousers, Captain Harkness slid his hands up Jack's belly and over his chest to his shoulders, drawing forth a gasp of pleasure. Jack shrugged off the shirt and pulled his undershirt over his head. Naked to the waist, he shivered in the cool air and then shivered harder when the other man's lips dropped to his chest, kissing, licking and biting while his hands roamed over Jack's exposed flesh. 

Jack moaned softly in encouragement, trying to pull the captain against him again, but the other man resisted, stepping back. Before doubt could flicker through Jack's mind, Captain Harkness was undoing his own uniform jacket, removing his tie - stripping. Jack gave him a watery smile, weak with desire. The captain was immediately back in his arms and the searing touch of their bare chests together was intoxicating. “Ohhh,” Captain Harkness gasped and Jack kissed him deeply again, loving how the other man's hands dug into his back in response.

Breaking away again, Jack panted, “Captain -” 

“Jack,” the captain corrected him, equally breathless.

“Jack...” Jack said slowly, the name suddenly strange in his mouth. “I want to do something for you. Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” the captain whispered.

“Are you nervous?”

“No.”

Jack smiled slyly and licked up the side of Captain Harkness' neck to hiss wickedly in his ear, “You'll like this, I promise.” A shudder ran through the captain's body and Jack felt his smile burst into a grin.

Trailing his hands down the captain's sides to his waist, Jack knelt before him. He could tell when the other man had worked out his intentions by his low, ragged groan and quickened breathing. Jack undid the captain's trousers and let them puddle at his feet, gently helping him to step out of them. His boxers were magnificently tented and Jack leaned forward, blowing hot breath through the thin fabric. The captain's cock bobbed in response as he gasped again, and Jack's own hard-on pulsed a salute in reply.

When Jack pressed his mouth over the head of Captain Harkness' erection through the fabric, he thought for a second that the other man was going to collapse; such a violent tremor went through him. “Ahhh James,” he moaned out as Jack's hands joined his mouth, squeezing and caressing him. Jack flinched inwardly at the surprising sting of hearing a name that wasn't his coming so earnestly from the captain's lips. 

After no more than a minute of Jack's attentions, Captain Harkness yanked down his remaining clothing to free himself to Jack's direct touch. After several minutes of teasing, licking and soft breaths, he cried out loudly - too loudly - as Jack finally slid his mouth down over him, twirling his tongue over the engorged tip. Jack tilted his head back and looked up at him, maintaining eye contact as he slowly slid out and in. The captain's face was the picture of pure naked desire: mouth open, eyes wide. This was one of Jack's favorite tricks, but it was nearly too much. Desperately close to losing control already, the other man's hips thrust forward hard and his hands instinctively reached to pull Jack further down onto him. 

Jack backed off gently, caressing the captain's thighs, moving to kiss his hip bones, his taut stomach. He struggled to ignore the intense ache for attention in his own groin. Working his way back up to standing, Jack kissed and licked and bit his way up the captain's body, eliciting the most delicious, much quieter, noises from him. He left no spot unexplored; kissing the pale delicate insides of his elbows, biting his wrists, sliding his tongue over the captain's collarbones. Finally Jack kissed his mouth again, pulling him tight. The other man's hardness throbbed, trapped between them, and Jack couldn't help but press his hips forward with a low growl of need.

As if sensing the other man's desperation, Captain Harkness slid a hand between them boldly, and explored the contours of Jack's trouser-bound erection. The sensation wrung an involuntary whine of relief and burning want from low in his chest. In eager response to his hungry cry, the captain forced Jack back against the wall, undid his trousers and gripped him firmly. “Is that better?” he asked huskily, staring into Jack's eyes.

“Yes,” Jack moaned in reply, thrusting up into the man's hand. “That's so good. Squeeze your thumb just – oh God,” he trembled and panted as the captain followed his instructions. Pressing his free hand to the wall beside Jack's head to steady himself, Captain Harkness kissed him now, deeply and passionately, his other hand stroking rhythmically up and down Jack's shaft.

The brick of the cellar wall was chilly and left smarting scratches traced across Jack's shoulders as he squirmed in the captain's grasp. Captain Harkness plundered his mouth, sunk deep hungry bites into his neck that made him shudder and gasp. His hips pumped upward greedily, almost pinning the captain's hand between their yearning bodies. 

“I want you inside me,” Jack pleaded when they finally parted to breathe. “Please.”

Captain Harkness rocked as if he'd been struck, the breath forced out of him. “You’d – ?“ he gasped, then gathered himself a bit more as Jack reached forward to steady him by the shoulder. “Show me how?” It was barely a question, verging more on a command.

Jack finished stripping with the captain's help, and then turned in his arms to face the wall, bracing himself with one hand. Reaching down with the other hand, Jack brought his lover's fingers to his mouth and slid one past his lips, tonguing and sucking it greedily. Captain Harkness jerked and banged his hips against the curve of Jack's ass, his cock pressed between them again. “That’s – ohhh,” he moaned heatedly. Jack sucked in another finger, and the captain bit down hard into Jack's shoulder with another soft cry. Jack bucked hard against him in response, and slid the captain's wet fingers from his mouth as the stinging ache of the bite raced straight down his spine.

“You have to start slow,” Jack cautioned him, arching his back and guiding the captain's hand down. “Just one at first. Curl a little bit. Ahhh yes that's it,” he groaned as Captain Harkness slid a finger into him. Jack ground his hips back, wiggling shamelessly, and after a few moments the captain pressed his second finger in beside the first and slowly slid them in and out, twisting. It was something that normally drove Jack completely insane, but this... this was better than he could ever remember. “How did you know?” he whimpered in astonishment.

Captain Harkness chuckled gently. “It just seemed like the right thing to do,” he replied, the smile apparent in his voice. “Certainly feels like it was.”

“Very right,” Jack responded with a breathless laugh. “Now you need to get your other hand wet, really wet. Let me help,” he continued unsteadily, his voice becoming unraveled by the fingers moving so expertly inside him.

Able to concentrate on the task only because he so desperately wanted the reward, Jack moistened the captain's hand thoroughly before releasing it. “Use that to lube yourself,” Jack grunted as the fingers inside him pressed right against his prostate, sending a pulse of intense pleasure rippling through him. “I'm ready,” he gasped, the longing in his voice stretching the words into an urgent plea.

Jack spat on his own hand and reached back to guide the captain forward as the fingers slipped out of him and gripped his shoulder. “Now just keep still for a second,” he said tremulously as he slowly pressed his hips back. “Steady,” he groaned as Captain Harkness' length slid into him.

The low growl in his ear and sudden crushing grip on his body told Jack all he needed to know. “Fuck me,” he whispered torridly, and the captain obeyed in earnest, moving slow and deep just like his fingers had. His strong hands guided Jack's body confidently, rocking him back to meet his thrusts. Jack could hear himself whimpering steadily after barely a minute of writhing together; his captain, his beautiful hero, buried inside him. “There's a spot -” his voice cracked.

“I think I found that earlier,” the other man murmured throatily in his ear, still pumping steadily.

“Angle more forward, not – Oh Fuck!” Jack gritted his teeth as he nearly yelled. God yes, that was the spot. 

Captain Harkness wasted no time reaching around and grabbing Jack's cock as he thrust faster, keeping that same trajectory. His hand moved in time with his hips, and his breathing rapidly devolved into rough gasps and growls. Then he was almost chanting his lover's name, his body taut and trembling as he soared towards climax, “James... James...”

“Please, ohhh… please,” Jack begged fervidly, almost there himself. The sensation suddenly tore at him, threatening to turn him inside out as he was nearly overwhelmed by pain and rage at the unfairness that the passionate soldier sweating and groaning against him now – so hot, so alive – would be, was already, cold and lifeless in the ground tomorrow. And there was nothing he could do about it. It was terrifying to think that it would always be like this: everything good tainted with the inexorable desolation of knowing he – immortal, but not omnipotent - would always be left alone to look back and grieve each unavoidable loss.

'Make the most of now', Captain Harkness' rich voice echoed in his head. Right now – tonight - this was what Jack could give the captain. God help him, he couldn't save the man, but he could share these stolen moments with him and would remain his faithful witness long after most mortals would have been long forgotten. 'Make tonight the best night of your life', Jack had told him earnestly, and he was more determined than ever to help make that happen.

Biting his own lip hard to bring himself back into the moment, Jack forced their pace to a languorous, sensual roll. Only now, only this, Jack repeated to himself silently as he shifted his hips in a wanton swirl. And this was so very good. The captain moaned in quiet protest, but pacified himself by wrapping his free arm around Jack's chest and attacking the back of Jack's neck with his mouth.

They undulated together in near silence, both shaking with the difficulty of the restraint. Only the sounds of their uneven breath and Jack's fingers digging into the wall as he pressed back into the captain's arms infiltrated the hushed strains of music from upstairs. Struggling in the sheltering darkness, their pace built slowly, speeding up only when neither of them could continue to fight it.

Captain Harkness was nearly whining on each breath when Jack threw his head back, straining against him ardently. He couldn't prolong this any more. “I want you to come in me,” Jack moaned with complete abandon and his captain did, his body curling hard and shuddering around him, his teeth buried in Jack's shoulder again to smother his helpless wail of pleasure. 

Jack almost failed to choke back the roar as his own climax, the sheer bliss and utter agony of the moment all coiled together into an explosion of shattering sensation, ripped through him. He bucked wildly in the captain's grasp, thrusting up into his hand and back onto his cock. Captain Harkness clasped him firmly and pistoned into him, growling impassioned encouragements in his ear. The sublime ecstasy dragged out until Jack's knees went weak; and he sagged with a strangled sob of raw emotion, spent, in the other man's strong arms. 

They collapsed together in a sweaty tangle atop sandbags stacked to serve as benches, and calmed each other with kisses and tender words.

 

* * *

 

“Where have you been? I looked everywhere!” Toshiko snapped when Jack sat down next to her.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so long,” Jack apologized sincerely, realizing belatedly that she must have been scared here alone. He dropped his head with a repentant sigh, and then looked up, eyes searching across the dance hall.

Tosh followed his gaze curiously, finally focusing on Captain Harkness standing against the far wall, a drink in his hand. The captain watched them, smiling softly and raising his glass slightly in salute when his eyes met Jack's.

Tosh looked back to Jack, her eyes wide. “You weren't – You didn't!”

Jack felt an uncharacteristic flush creep up his face and looked away, not saying a word. He wanted to explain to Toshiko that it wasn't what she thought, that it wasn't just some convenient novelty conquest, but he couldn’t help smirking just a little.

Stifling a giggle with one hand, Tosh tried not to stare.

 

* * *

 

He strode across the dance floor and took Jack's hand tenderly, bringing him to his feet.

“I need to borrow Captain Harper for a moment, if you don't mind, Toshiko,” Captain Harkness requested graciously.

“Of course,” she nodded, suppressing another titter.

Jack allowed the captain to lead him past the other tables and into the empty hallway beyond, out of earshot. 

“I wanted to thank you, Captain Harper - James,” Captain Harkness told him earnestly, still holding his hand. “If you hadn't -” He stumbled over the words a little and Jack smiled with adoration. “I might never have -”

A loud crash and a blinding flash of light bursting from the end of the hallway interrupted him.

“Jack!” Tosh yelled as she scrambled to her feet, grabbing her laptop and his coat. “Jack, we need to get out!” She ran past the two men, towards the explosion. Realizing Jack wasn't following her, she stopped and turned back to him. “Jack! You have to!” she cried out desperately. “We need you!”

Jack's face was pure anguish as he looked into Captain Harkness' eyes and squeezed his hand. “I have to go,” he gulped, his throat painfully tight with emotion. “It's my duty.”

Biting his lip, the captain nodded at him sadly, understanding, his strength allowing Jack to turn and walk away. Jack trailed his arm behind him, reluctant to let go, holding on as long as he could until their fingers slipped apart. He only made it two more steps before his resolve crumbled. He rushed back, feeling his heart breaking in his chest and tears welling in his eyes, to kiss his beloved captain just once more. To kiss him goodbye forever.

**Author's Note:**

> There is a follow-up short fic to this.


End file.
